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Wot films are you watching?

To borrow another thread from ye abandoned and decaying forums of olde.

Films are like games minus interactivity. Predictably, certain luddites out there continue to engage with this antiquated art form; more surprising, perhaps is that these unfortunate individuals are continued to suffer to walk freely amongst society. Yet it would be remiss of us if they were not at least offered a chapel in which to confess their sins. This is that.

So here's me of late:

Moulin Rouge: A masterful production offering up a veritable feast of audiovisual delights. The colours, the music, the editing, Nicole Kidman! And yet, I wasn't able to get into it. The film is sheer fairytale spectacle, but what of it? I've been able to relax and give myself over to such productions before - Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast' remains a firm favourite - so what was different this time? The film does lag somewhat in the second reel, but I don't think that's it. No, it's not you, MR, it's me. Maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind. Or, more worrisome, perhaps there was a childlike spark in me that has gone out of late. Either way, it irks me, and thus Moulin Rouge offers up a rare instance of my head being more charitable towards a film than my heart.

Never Let Me Go: There's a wonderful sense of austerity and solemnity pervading every aspect of this film. It's set largely in provincial England, and indeed it is difficult to imagine it being set anywhere else. The male member of the trio of characters whose journeys define the film is particularly intriguing in his passivity. It's an unusual and welcome role for a male character to assume in the context, but one which - in combination with certain other characteristics of the film - creates some problems. Specifically, the unceremonious and almost unmourned death of the most active and complex member of the trio in the second reel creates a vacuum that the film subsequently struggles to fill. And not just because the character in question was played by Keira Knightley. The concept underlying the film of children raised as future organ donors is intriguing and affecting, if totally implausible as presented. It's unfortunate that the film declined to explore it further, perhaps fearing to distract from the core character story. If done well, however, I think the two could have reinforced one another, strengthening a film whose second half falls rather short of the brilliant first. Still, it's a worthy film.

The Wrestler: The least of Aronofsky's films, I fear. There are intriguing ideas wafting about here concerning performance and reality, from the casting of ex-boxer Mickey Rourke to the nature of professional wrestling, to the relationship between Rourke's character and stripper Cassidy, to the roles assumed in the course of more 'normal' employment and parenthood. And none of it ends tidily. The performances and script are superb, the characters and events they detail heartbreakingly human, and now having written all this I'm not sure why I didn't like it. Is it the wrestling? I think it might be. That sort of casual, visceral violence for entertainment has always left a sour taste in my mouth. Great.

How I Ended This Summer: Seen at the recommendation of an RPS member. Unfortunately I can't say that I enjoyed it. Great setup, drags a bit, then blech. There's a lot of ambiguity as to the motivations and actions of the characters at certain points in the film, and I think that's meant to contrast with the mechanical regularity of their actual functions at the station and thereby make some kind of point. But it just doesn't work and the film doesn't even have the good grace to kill either of its two significant characters. It's a pity; the Arctic research station and its surroundings make for an intriguing and hauntingly photographed setting, but I just didn't get this one.

Certified Copy: I'm a sucker for this sort of thing, I really am. Usually, though, there's some sort of reality underlying the multilayered dialogue. I'm not sure that's the case here. And I'm sure that's the point. Maybe there is a consistent explanation which accounts for all the dialogue in the film - I've read some well-argued theories - but even if there is I don't think scrabbling to find it is what we're meant to do upon leaving the theatre. It's a very human thing to do, though. I need to see this again. And not just for Juliette Binoche's remarkable performance.

I watched the x-men film (Michael Fassbender for the new James bond please), its as good as the first two but there are a few things that bothered me.

1/ the 'mutant and proud' slogan, I know that the franchise has always had this link to certain movements but that was cringeworthy.
2/ the black guy dies first.
3/ besides prof x, Magneto, Raven and Sebastian Shaw the other mutants are basically just there as furniture.

Pink Floyd's The Wall - It basically is a surreal music video, also god damn it Bob Geldof did you really have to sing one of my favourite songs...you bloody butchered it. Also I had no real clue what was going on with the visuals in this it seemed very psychedelic and didn't really go anywhere. So it was perfect for Pink Floyd's music.

The secret of Kells (absolutely beautiful,definitely recommended for visuals alone)
Primer (I don't know if I can recommend what I didn't understand in the slightest because I don't know if it's bad or not. It was definitely interesting up until I stopped being able to follow what was going on.)

I watched the x-men film (Michael Fassbender for the new James bond please)

Is Daniel Craig planning on moving on?

Originally Posted by Serenegoose

Primer (I don't know if I can recommend what I didn't understand in the slightest because I don't know if it's bad or not. It was definitely interesting up until I stopped being able to follow what was going on.)

no, I think he is doing the next one but who knows after that, me and the people I saw it with agreed that this guy would be really good for the part though.

Hmm I don't think I've seen Fassbender in anything yet, although I've been meaning to get around to Jane Eyre at some point. Saves reading the book!

Re: Craig and Bond. I like the darker turn the franchise has taken of late and Craig is perfect for that, but I wouldn't want to see it continue in its current vein forever. One more grimdark film with Craig and then a tonal shift with a new Bond would suit me fine.

I want to see Your Highness. I know it's probably gonna be horrible, but I laughed hard at trailers

Originally Posted by 8-bit

I watched the x-men film (Michael Fassbender for the new James bond please), its as good as the first two but there are a few things that bothered me.

3/ besides prof x, Magneto, Raven and Sebastian Shaw the other mutants are basically just there as furniture.

As far as their lines go, I suppose, but I got a shivver (and that's not happened in a long time at a movie) when Banshee went into action. He's always been my favorite and I'm glad to see him finally included.

"Unix is user friendly. It's just selective about who its friends are.”

Maybe this should be in the controversy thread, but I was completely unmoved by Monsters.

It goes a little further than that, though - I don't see why I was supposed to be moved. Is it because the monsters (spoilers) perform the nightmare tentacle equivalent of the horizontal boogaloo? I mean, so what? Why is that supposed to be so powerful?

Over the last two evenings, I've watched Dirty Harry and Magnum Force. They're both good films and you can definitely tell where a lot of modern, or at least since the 80s procedural crime shows/films have taken an awful lot of their inspiration from. Everything that you see is important, in some way, which is certainly refreshing, but having seen all that has come after, it's somewhat lessened the impact I think it would have had if I'd have seen them when they first came out. They also felt too long, but I think that may just be me not being able to sit through too much now. Dirty Harry is definitely recommended watching though. Some great lines, sequences, etc.

Absolutely terrible, couldn't be bothered watching the end... I just didn't care about what would happen to any of the characters.

BLASPHEMY!

Seriously though, I think the film has much more resonance to someone who has watched the series. Unless you already have, in which case I'm going to shout blasphemy in your face some more :D

I watched Oliver Stone's Heaven and Earth the other day. Between that and watching the C4 programme on Sri Lanka's killing fields last week my faith in humanity has been at something of a low. Recommendations for something spirit-lifting would be appreciated.

Seriously though, I think the film has much more resonance to someone who has watched the series. Unless you already have, in which case I'm going to shout blasphemy in your face some more

Hmm thats funny because I actually didn't like the series that much(still don't get the fans reaction to Joss Wheaden I don't think i've really liked any of his TV series) but I quite enjoyed the movie a lot.

Seriously though, I think the film has much more resonance to someone who has watched the series. Unless you already have, in which case I'm going to shout blasphemy in your face some more :D

I watched Oliver Stone's Heaven and Earth the other day. Between that and watching the C4 programme on Sri Lanka's killing fields last week my faith in humanity has been at something of a low. Recommendations for something spirit-lifting would be appreciated.

:) Blasphemer to the end! Yeah, I didn't watch the series, I might give it a go because I like the premise, the film just seemed.. kind of silly.

Originally Posted by Jams O'Donnell

Last night I watched The Troll Hunter, and it was exceedingly satisfying, and really quite funny in places. Totally recommended.

I think Serenity's most important point is that it demonstrates how nasty the Alliance are in that universe. Throughout the series, the crew of Firefly tend to be acting illegally by Alliance laws if not actually in direct action against the Alliance. Serenity goes some way to justifying that. It also finishes off the strange River Tam story which didn't really have enough time to get very far in one season of TV shows. I don't think I enjoyed Serenity first time round, then I watched Firefly and had a much better time when I came back to it.

I recently saw Charlie Wilson's War which randomly popped up from LoveFilm. I found it a very interesting film and provides some interesting context to recent events.